A successful defense of a country depends preponderantly upon an efficient defense against enemy tanks. It is therefore very valuable to the defense of a country to be able to accurately combat tanks, and in particular large tank units, while they are still at a considerably distance from and before their entry into the direct combat zone. A weapon system having that capacity is not presently available, and combat using directly aimed or guided missiles is presently possible only at relatively short range within which the enemy tanks can return the fire. At a greater range, low angle artillery fire can be used but such artillery fire has relatively low efficiency. Airborne launching bases, for example, planes and helicopters, can be employed but such airborne launching bases are expensive and easily repulsed by anti-aircraft.
The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a new and useful fire-control system and method having notable utility in combatting, for example but not exclusively, tanks and tank units, and providing for accurately aiming and directing missiles at a relatively long range against single targets, the relatively long range available with the present invention constituting a multiple of the maximum range possible with conventional similarly accurate weapon systems and methods and makes it possible to undertake an optimum early and efficient attack against enemy forces with a minimum of risk to material and personnel.
The present invention permits initiating combat with missiles against movable targets which are not visually observable from the missile launching site and using projectiles which are fired to the target area with directable launching devices preferably by firing the projectiles into a predetermined indirect ballistic trajectory.
Surface targets against which the fire-control system and method of the present invention are useful include movable ground targets, such as tanks and rocket-launching sites, stationary ground targets, and surface targets at sea, etc. The missile launching sites are surface based and are preferably portable and for example vehicular mounted. By an indirect ballistic trajectory, it is meant as is known, the relatively higher trajectory of the available low and high missile trajectories for a particular target range.
Firing a missile to hit a target is improved in accordance with the present invention by firing at least one pilot projectile into an indirect ballistic trajectory to the target area and therefore into relative close proximity with the target, taking pictures of the target area with the pilot projectile during its steep descent by means of suitable optical receiving and transmitting means, transmitting the target area picture to the remote launching and/or fire-control sites, and determining from the target area picture displayed at the remote site accurate aiming data for accurately aiming succeeding combat projectiles.
Obtaining a target area picture using reconnaissance aircraft for the purpose of directing fire is known as such. However, aircraft such as manned or unmanned reconnaissance planes, have always been special purpose aircraft which are expensive and vulnerable. It is an essential feature of the present invention to use a pilot projectile which is fired into a ballistic trajectory into a presumed target area, for instance, a previously reconnoitered target area, so that the pilot projectile can be used to directly determine the effectiveness of the existing fire-control data in directing the projectile and how the fire-control data should be corrected or modified for the succeeding projectiles for hitting single targets observed in the picture transmitted from the pilot projectile. In addition, a pilot projectile of the type described presents a considerably less expensive and essentially invulnerable reconnaissance medium in comparison to the usual method manned or unmanned reconnaissance aircraft with their tactical flying profiles.
A TV camera is used in the pilot projectile as the optical receiver for directly scanning the target area. Where there is poor visibility and/or reduced ambient light, a suitable low intensity camera and/or a thermal or infrared camera may be used, in combination with laser target area lighting, if desired. Since the target area picture is employed for obtaining target identification and target coordinates, the picture definition and quality can be relatively low and a comparatively simple and inexpensive picture receiver may be used in the pilot projectile. Likewise, a simple transmitter and narrow transmission channel width are sufficient for target area picture transmission, the target area picture being preferably transmitted via radio to facilitate firing the projectiles at the desired relatively long range.
Further accessories for assisting in producing the desired target area picture may include means for retarding the descent of the pilot projectile, for example aerodynamic braking, for lengthening the pilot projectile time over the target area, means for marking the projectile impact point in the target area picture with a laser beam or the like emitted from the pilot projectile, and, most importantly, means for exactly determining the actual ballistic trajectory of the pilot projectile with suitable trajectory-monitoring equipment at the launching site which may be active (e.g., radar) or passive (e.g., aimed laser monitoring, fixing the pilot projectile position with pilot projectile transmissions, etc.).
A further and particularly preferable feature of the present invention is the employment of live or combat projectiles having an automatic homing and steering device effective during the steep descent of their ballistic trajectory to automatically steer the live projectile to the target. This will improve the accuracy of the projectile and permit the projectile to be fired very effectively at great distances. While up to now the use of such automatic homing and steering devices in projectiles has been limited to relatively short range projectiles where a target determination can be made by automatic means at the launching site, the present invention makes it possible through the use of the target area picture transmitted from the pilot projectile, to establish the ballistic trajectory of the succeeding live projectiles with sufficient precision to place the live projectiles in suitable position above a selected individual target to enable effective follow-up precision control by its automatic homing and steering device.
The present invention is also connected with the provision of a fire-control system having at least one launching station with directable launching means for the combat projectiles and a fire-control station, located at or separately from the launching station, having a computer for producing direction control signals for accurately aiming the combat projectiles. It is characteristic of the fire-control system and method of the present invention to provide at least one pilot projectile along with a number of live projectiles for being launched from the launching site, and provide a camera in the pilot projectile for receiving and transmitting to the fire-control station a target area picture and equip the fire-control station with means for receiving the target area picture and produce data and commands through the employment of the target area picture and feed them into the computer for use in directing and firing the combat projectiles. In particular a fire-control station evaluation device is provided for evaluating the target area picture. The evaluation device contains a display desk for the display of the target area picture, marking means at the desk for designating or selecting individual targets and sensors for automatically determining the relative coordinates of each selected target. Also, the display desk preferably employs an optical matching device for displaying and adjusting the target area picture in accordance with the coordinates and scale of existing cartographical representations of the target area.
According to another preferred form of execution of the present invention, a multiple projectile launching device is employed having individual adjustable launching guides, each with its own aiming drive, and the individual projectile launching systems are assembled together in the form of an interchangeable projectile magazine that can be mounted as a unit on a suitable launching base. A common plug connection provides for connecting all of the aiming drives of the projectile launching magazine with control leads from the fire-control station when the magazine is mounted on its launching base.
The projectile magazine is at least roughly aimed as a unit to roughly aim the individual projectiles of the magazine to the intended target area, and so that the individual projectile launching guides can be employed to precisely aim its projectile by relatively minor angle adjustments of the launching guide and whereby it is possible to house a large number of launching guides for the pilot and combat projectiles together in a limited space in a single magazine.
Other objects and features of the present invention will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.
A better understanding of the invention will be obtained from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings of an illustrative application of the invention.